Faith is Key

Faith, 3 Key Verses: (1) Ephesians 3:16 (ESV): “…may…you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith….” (2) Romans 14:23 (ESV): “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” (3) 1 Cor. 2 (ESV): “…my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom…so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

These scriptures tells us that faith is key, that faith is primary, central, of first importance. Faith is the means to everything else in the spiritual life. As Ephesians 3 says above, Christ dwells in our hearts through faith. So then it is essential that we understand and practice our faith. It’s vital that we remember that faith is first a relationship with God, and that relationship is primarily one of trust, surrender, intimacy, and open-ness to him. To grow in faith requires practice. We must exercise our faith; we must practice yielding to God in the moment-by-moment unfolding of our lives. Though it may sound hard, really it only requires that we trust him, yield to him. This is his promise: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:29, ESV).

--Rickey